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CARICOM, a Caribbean nation consortium, already hoped to hit 47 percent renewable energy by 2027. The recent hurricanes could act as a motivation to work for that goal. Caribbean countries in the past have relied mostly on imported fossil fuels, which are expensive both for the islands and for the environment. And storms can cripple power lines.

There is an alternative, according to The Washington Post. Renewable sources, coupled with battery storage, powering small grids could offer more resiliency. Fossil fuels would offer backup—at least initially until battery storage becomes more affordable. The microgrids could be connected to a main grid but could also be isolated.

With this new setup, the Caribbean could benefit from trade winds and solar panels. According to renewable energy expert Tom Rogers, who works at Britain’s Coventry University, solar systems in the tropics can “generate over one and a half times more than exactly the same PV system” installed in a location with a higher latitude like Europe.

Rogers told The Washington Post, “You look at islands like Dominica, Anguilla, and other islands affected by the recent hurricanes, I’ve spoken to a couple of the utilities, and they say they would prefer to rebuild using distributed generation with storage, and just trying to reduce the amount of transmission lines. Because that’s where their energy systems fail. It’s having these overhead cables.”

That overhead power cables will inevitably fail during a violent storm is known to people living in the small coastal state of Kerala. We face similar squally weather almost throughout the year. Now we have woken up and have started installing solar and wind power systems that are localised.

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Slideshow

Puerto Rico electricity crisis sparks interest in renewable energy

Puerto Rico Hurricane Maria

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Millions of people were left without electricity in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria.

Puerto Rico Electricity

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These satellite images of before and after Hurricane Maria illustrate the power disaster.